Dawn : Musharraf signs reconciliation deal with Benazir Bhutto

Musharraf signs reconciliation deal with Benazir Bhutto

AFP | October 5, 2007

ISLAMABAD -- President Pervez Musharraf Friday signed a “reconciliation ordinance” that paves the way for a power-sharing deal with former premier Benazir Bhutto, officials said.

The deal, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, gives an amnesty for politicians active in Pakistan between 1988 and 1999 -- effectively clearing Benazir of the corruption charges that forced her into exile eight years ago.

“President Musharraf has signed it. It is the beginning of a new era,” Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, told AFP.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said in a statement that the national reconciliation agreement, which was approved earlier by the cabinet, would bring harmony to Pakistan's long-standing political chaos.

“It is an important step in creating an atmosphere of tolerance and harmony in national politics, free of the vendettas and polarisation that marred the national political scene in the decades of 1980s and 1990s,” he said.